Reciprocal Link
What Is a Reciprocal Link? A reciprocal link is created when two websites agree to link to each other, often through a direct arrangement between site owners rather than either link being independently earned. Link Exchanges Reciprocal linking was common in early SEO as a straightforward way to build backlinks quickly. Small-scale, genuinely relevant exchanges […]
Reconsideration Request
What Is a Reconsideration Request? A reconsideration request is a formal appeal submitted through Google Search Console asking Google to review and lift a manual action penalty applied to a site. When to File One File a reconsideration request only after you’ve genuinely identified and fixed the underlying issue that triggered the manual action — […]
Related Searches
What Are Related Searches? Related searches is a SERP feature that displays a list of similar or connected queries, usually shown near the bottom of a search results page. How It Works Google generates these suggestions based on what other users commonly search in connection with your original query, offering a window into related topics, […]
Relative URL
What Is a Relative URL? A relative URL points to a page’s location without specifying the full domain — /glossary/relative-url/ rather than https://example.com/glossary/relative-url/. Relative vs Absolute URLs An absolute URL includes the full address: protocol, domain, and path. A relative URL only includes the path, and is interpreted by the browser relative to the current […]
Robots.txt
What Is Robots.txt? A robots.txt file is a plain text file placed at the root of a website that tells search engine crawlers which parts of the site they’re allowed or not allowed to crawl. Correct Syntax A basic robots.txt uses simple directives: User-agent: specifies which crawler the rule applies to (or * for all), […]
RankBrain
What Is RankBrain? RankBrain is a machine learning system Google introduced in 2015 to help interpret search queries it hasn’t seen before or that are ambiguous, ranking among the more significant components of Google’s overall ranking algorithm. What It Does Rather than relying purely on exact keyword matching, RankBrain uses machine learning to interpret the […]
Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)
What Is Retrieval-Augmented Generation? Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) is a technique that pairs an AI model with a retrieval step — searching a knowledge source in real time — before generating a response, rather than relying solely on what the model memorised during training. How It Works When a user asks a question, a RAG system […]
Rich Snippet
What Is a Rich Snippet? A rich snippet is a search result enhanced with additional visual details beyond the standard title, URL, and description — star ratings, prices, cooking times, event dates, and similar extras. Types of Rich Snippets Common types include review and rating snippets, recipe snippets (cook time, calories, ratings), product snippets (price, […]
301 Redirect
What Is a 301 Redirect? A 301 redirect is a permanent HTTP redirect that automatically sends users and search engines from one URL to a different one, signaling that the original URL’s content has moved for good. When to Use One Use a 301 whenever a page permanently moves — during a site migration, a […]
Resource Page
What Is a Resource Page? A resource page is a page that curates helpful links on a specific topic, often maintained by universities, industry associations, or niche websites as a reference for their audience. How Resource Pages Work Because their entire purpose is linking out to genuinely useful external content, resource pages are naturally receptive […]